Marriott International announced this morning that it has purchased Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, a move that creates the largest hotel chain in the world.
The two companies will have 5,500 hotels around the world with 1.1 million rooms. The deal is worth $12.2 billion, which includes $11.9 billion of Marriott International stock and $340 million in cash.
“The driving force behind this transaction is growth. This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace,” Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said in a statement. “This greater scale should offer a wider choice of brands to consumers, improve economics to owners and franchisees, increase unit growth and enhance long-term value to shareholders.”
The New York Times notes that there had been questions about Starwood’s future in the hotel industry for most of the year after previous CEO Frits van Paasschen resigned. InterContinental Hotels Group was rumored to be interested in buying the company and Hyatt was also reportedly interested.
“We are excited to play a vital role in the creation of the biggest and best hotel company in the world with tremendous upside potential,” Starwood CEO Adam Aron added. “The combination of our two companies brings together the best in innovation, culture and execution.”
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